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Comment Re:Old Tech Costs? (Score 1) 204

Was it cheaper when they did it all with paper files?

Yes, but mostly because there were a lot fewer people back then. (Remember, that even sorting is O(N log N) -- and you have to do that to get the right papers in the right files. I would guess that there needs to be lots of O(N^2) operations to catch fraud. 300,000 Americans is a big N.

Comment opt-in (Score 1) 233

Google does publish ipv6.google.com. And if you have classic (not ig) selected, you get an extra-fancy dancing Google logo to let you know you made it to the IPv6 version of Google.

But if you want to use their regular services, they just redirect you to plain old boring www.google.com. So it's nice that Google spent 20% of a lot of time on this, but it's not available to ordinary IPv6 connected users. I guess that's better than slashdot. (ipv6.slashdot.org has an A, but no AAAA records!)

Of course, if you want to add some entries to your ipnodes table, you can get the rest of the Google services to work for you over IPv6 and then your gmail will be extra-cool like mine.

Comment Re:So... (Score 1) 217

The DMCA notices I've seen only swear to be authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf, and/or that there is an exclusive license which the alleged file sharer doesn't have. The details about IP addresses, protocols, and timestamps are (at best) represented as a "good faith belief." It's never been clear to me if those sending the notices are making any claim that the

Do you have a reference for your claim that the entire notice must be filed under penalty of perjury? I have some that are completely implausible, and others that for which I have some doubt. If this were indeed perjury, that would probably be interesting to lawyers defending clients from similar evidence.

Image

Robot Love Goes Bad 101

hundredrabh writes "Ever had a super needy girlfriend that demanded all your love and attention and would freak whenever you would leave her alone? Irritating, right? Now imagine the same situation, only with an asexual third-generation humanoid robot with 100kg arms. Such was the torture subjected upon Japanese researchers recently when their most advanced robot, capable of simulating human emotions, ditched its puppy love programming and switched over into stalker mode. Eventually the researchers had to decommission the robot, with a hope of bringing it back to life again."

Comment Whatever window is open... (Score 1) 776

I use whatever window is open, and that's generally a lot of them. pgsl is very good at dates, but one can select almost anything you really need, too. bc -l works from almost any shell. google is smart enough for easy stuff.

Of course, someone will probably say they just PM CowboyNeal in IRC, but I actually prefer to do the easier calculations myself.

Comment Re:hydrogen cars (Score 1) 769

Since hydrogen has, at a theoretical best, a 1.0 eROI, it should never be considered an energy source.

Modern batteries (or even flywheels) are better at storing energy than stored hydrogen. The electric grids transmit energy more efficiently than hydrogen can be transported (except to exotic places where installing power lines is difficult. Like on a launching space shuttle.)

Comment Re:Can't believe I'm first, second, and third (Score 1) 534

I think you can get that with a single spinning design. You can run in the same direction as the rotation (basically, faster rotation) and get a good workout. Or, you can leap in the opposite direction, and get around the rim pretty quick. Or you can just hang out in the "hub" and let the station turn around you.
GUI

Windows 7 Taskbar Not So Similar To OS X Dock After All 545

cremou brulee writes "Redmond's photocopiers have been unusually busy for the last couple of years, with the result that Windows 7 copies a lots of Mac OS X features. First and foremost among these is the Dock, which has been unceremoniously ripped off in Windows 7's new Taskbar. Or has it? Ars Technica has taken an in-depth look at the history and evolution of the Taskbar, and shows just how MS arrived at the Windows 7 'Superbar.' The differences between the Superbar and the Dock are analyzed in detail. The surprising conclusion? 'Ultimately, the new Taskbar is not Mac-like in any important way, and only the most facile of analyses would claim that it is.'"
NASA

Why Does the US Have a Civil Space Program? 308

BDew writes "The Presidents of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering have commissioned a study on the Rationale and Goals of the US Civil Space Program. In short, the Academies are asking why the nation has a civil space program (including human, robotic, commercial, and personal spaceflight). The study is intended to provide a strategic framework for the nation's activities in space that can provide consistent guidance in an increasingly interconnected world. The members of the study committee are interested in the views (positive or negative) of the general public, particularly those people with a scientific and/or technological interest."
Microsoft

Microsoft Announces Windows Azure, Cloud-Based OS 419

snydeq writes "Microsoft today introduced Windows Azure, its operating system for the cloud. The OS serves as the underlying foundation of the Azure Services Platform to help developers build apps that span from the cloud to the datacenter, to PCs, the Web, and phones. Cloud-based developer capabilities are combined with storage, computational, and network infrastructure services, which are hosted on servers within Microsoft's global data center network."
Hardware

Recovering Moldy Electronics? 512

cookiej writes "We just completed having our basement gutted and our house decontaminated from mold. The finished basement is gone, my office floor has been removed as well as 24' of drywall around the base of the room. So, we had a full home theater downstairs along with a couple of computers in the electronics closet that were completely immersed (rainwater, not sewage). We moved them to a sheltered area outside and covered them with a plastic tarp. Since the electronics were off when the water hit them, 1) do I have a chance of recovering them? 2) If so, is there a way to clean them with some sort of liquid bath that would not damage the electronics? and 3) I don't want to bring moldy pieces back in the clean house. How could I decontaminate the electronics themselves, pre-bath? Not looking to save the speakers, just the amp, DirecTV box, video switch, etc. Thanks for any help, here, Slashdot." Read on for more details of this reader's plight.
Image

"Stayin Alive" Helps You Stay Alive 31

In a small study conducted at the University of Illinois medical school, doctors and students maintained close to the ideal number of chest compressions doing CPR while listening to the Bee Gees hit, "Stayin' Alive." At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help keep accurate time while doing chest compressions. The study showed the song helped people who already know how to do CPR, and the results were promising enough to warrant larger, more definitive studies with real patients or untrained people. I wonder what intrinsic power is contained in "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?"
Portables (Apple)

Steve Wozniak Predicts Death of the IPod 573

Slatterz writes "Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, better known in the industry as 'Woz,' believes that the iPod is on its way out and has revealed his discomfort with some aspects of the iPhone. Wozniak said that the iPod has had a long time as the world's most popular media player, and that it will fall from grace due to oversupply. Wozniak also commented on the iPhone's proprietary nature and locked service provider, and compared it to Google's open Android platform. 'Consumers are not getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down,' he said. 'I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you're allowed.'"

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